These people had no idea there were internal power struggles in the police department. All they knew was that just now, Liu Fusheng had slapped Personnel Director Chen Qingbo across the face—hard.
A rookie officer, on his very first day, had smacked the head of the personnel office… and not only did nothing happen to him, but the personnel director himself was immediately removed from his post afterward. What did that say?
"Bro—no, wait, Brother Liu! Turns out you were hiding your true power all along!"
"Brother Liu, you've got to look out for me from now on!"
"Liu Fusheng, right? Let's be friends. My whole family works in government—spread across every department in Lianan City. We can watch each other's backs."
…
It wasn't just rookie officers without connections— even some with serious family influence were throwing olive branches in Liu Fusheng's direction.
With a broad smile, Liu said, "Come on now, what's all this? From today, we're colleagues, of course we'll help each other out! But please, don't get the wrong idea—I don't know any bigwigs. What happened to Director Chen has nothing to do with me!"
Don't know anyone in power? Has nothing to do with you?
Only a fool would believe that!
The more he denied it, the more everyone was sure—this guy was just playing the pig to eat the tiger. He had to have a powerful backer. Definitely a hidden heavyweight.
Just then, the conference room door opened again. This time, a female officer in uniform walked in. Her features were delicate and striking, her figure graceful. Even the police uniform couldn't hide her perfect curves.
"New colleagues," she said expressionlessly, "due to sudden changes in the personnel department, your post assignments will be delayed. Please be patient."
She turned on her heel and left.
In an instant, everyone's attention shifted from Liu Fusheng to the stunning policewoman.
"She's gorgeous! I didn't know our city bureau had someone like that."
"Right? Her looks and presence have me completely floored. She's exactly my dream woman."
"Hey, cool it. Her name's Bai Ruochu, the belle of the Lianan City Police Bureau. She's famous for being an ice queen—and they call her a rose with thorns. Try to chase her and you'll end up shredded."
One officer who knew the inside gossip couldn't resist spilling a little.
That set off a flurry of questions.
"What do you mean? She's not into men?"
"You saying chasing her will get us hurt? Isn't that a bit exaggerated?"
These rookies were young, full of energy, and seeing a beauty had them buzzing with excitement.
The gossip guy snorted. "Believe it or not, it's your funeral if you try. Right, Liu Fusheng?"
Clearly, like everyone else, he assumed Liu had connections and would know about Bai Ruochu.
Liu sighed and said nothing.
Of course he knew Bai Ruochu—because she was no ordinary woman.
In his previous life, he'd never had direct dealings with her, but her reputation was huge. Outsiders had plenty of names for her: the most beautiful woman in the Lianan police force, the ice queen, the rose with thorns, and… a beauty doomed to tragedy.
That's right—doomed to tragedy.
In his past life, when Bai Ruochu's life was cut short, people finally learned just how formidable her background really was.
The Lianan City Police Bureau was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers—many with roots far deeper than they appeared. Winning Bai Ruochu's favor would be as good as stepping straight into the fast lane of success…
"Why so quiet?" the gossip asked, snapping Liu out of his thoughts.
He smiled and said, "For a woman like that, taking a few hits would be worth it."
That made everyone pause. Then someone shouted dramatically, "Liu Fusheng, are you saying you're going to chase the police beauty?!"
…
Meanwhile, in a conference room upstairs in the city bureau, a different kind of meeting was underway—one that looked calm on the surface but was full of undercurrents.
The two players at the table were the most powerful figures in the Lianan City Bureau: Director Li Wenbo and Party Secretary Wu Zhiming.
Li Wenbo had parachuted in as bureau chief. Originally, both the positions of bureau chief and party secretary had been held by Wu Zhiming, who was also a standing member of the Lianan Municipal Committee.
While many knew Li Wenbo had backing of his own, inside the bureau he still had to deal with Wu's interference…
That was why Li was building his own faction. Personnel Deputy Director Chen Qingbo was one of the trusted men Li had recently promoted.
Chen's sudden dismissal was clearly Wu Zhiming's move against him.
"Today was the post-assignment day for new recruits. Chen Qingbo happened to be in charge. Firing him suddenly like this doesn't look too good, does it?" Li Wenbo said, frowning slightly.
Some committee members nodded—this really wasn't a good time. At the very least, they should have waited until assignments were done.
In truth, Li himself was feeling a little regret. He hadn't expected Chen to have so much dirt on him, much of it backed by solid evidence. The dismissal was airtight. The only move Li had left was to counter by criticizing the timing.
Wu Zhiming smiled. "Director Li, you're right. That was my original thought too. But there was… an incident just now. Chen got into a dispute with a rookie named Liu Fusheng. After I looked into it, I had reason to suspect Chen of serious corruption and favoritism in the post-assignment process. That's why I halted the assignments immediately."
Liu Fusheng?
Li's ears pricked up. This involved him too?
"Alright," Li said, seeing there was no way to push back here, and pivoting instead, "I made the decision to promote Chen to deputy director of personnel, so I should take responsibility and reflect on my mistake."
Wu smiled and shook his head. "No need to blame yourself, Director Li. You've only been in Lianan for just over three months, mainly focusing on criminal casework. You haven't had time to really get to know everyone in the bureau. Finding a problem and fixing it is enough."
Li clenched his teeth inside. That was a veiled jab—basically saying he couldn't judge people and had poor vision.
"Still, I have to own my oversight," Li said aloud. "By the way, this Liu Fusheng seems interesting—first day on the job and he's already butting heads with leadership."
Having lost this round, Li deliberately shifted the topic to Liu.
Wu, in high spirits from his win, nodded with a grin. "True. He's got guts. But he didn't graduate from the police academy, so he has no investigative training. Otherwise, I'd say he'd be worth sending to the Criminal Investigation Division for some experience."
The other committee members chuckled.
They knew both the Criminal Investigation and Economic Investigation divisions fell under Li Wenbo's control. After Wu had just taken down Chen, Liu was naturally seen as "Wu's man." Why would Li let Wu plant one of his people in his territory?
But to their surprise, Li just smiled. "Actually, I think Secretary Wu's suggestion is spot on. No criminal investigation background? That's fine. On-the-job learning makes you grow faster."
…
Back in the large conference room downstairs, the new recruits were still chatting restlessly—they'd been waiting far too long.
Several people had gathered around Liu Fusheng, including the Bai Ruochu gossip, whose name was Sun Hai. Outgoing and chatty, he could talk to anyone.
"Liu Fusheng, which department do you want to get into? I think places like the audit office, personnel, or political department are pretty good—easy work and safe." Sun Hai grinned.
"I want to go into Criminal Investigation," Liu said.
"Criminal Investigation? Are you kidding?" Sun Hai's eyes widened. "Forget how dangerous it is—you didn't even go to the police academy. You've got zero training. How could they possibly put you there?"
Liu shook his head. "Criminal Investigation is my dream, even if it doesn't come true. Isn't that what life's about?"
Sun Hai laughed. "Yeah right. That's way too unrealistic. You think having connections means you can do anything? No way they'll put you there. If you get into Criminal Investigation, I'll call you 'Master' on the spot!"
Before Liu could figure out what becoming "Master" had to do with Criminal Investigation, the conference room door swung open.
Two officers walked in with a large list, posted it on the bulletin board, and said, "The leaders had to step out. The post-assignment list is here—check for yourselves."
Everyone rushed over.
Moments later, a cry of disbelief rang out from the crowd:
"No way! Liu Fusheng—you actually did get assigned to Criminal Investigation? That's… that's not even scientifically possible!"